Hundreds of titles have been associated with Ibn al-Arabi across eight centuries of transmission, but attribution is an evidence-based question. A manuscript’s title page, a later catalogue or an online folder does not establish authorial authenticity by itself. Authenticated cores, doubtful attributions and known misattributions must be distinguished.
How to study this subject
A work, a surviving manuscript, a printed edition and a translation are not interchangeable objects. Each introduces decisions about titles, variants, arrangement and wording. Modern manuscript research has established authenticated portions of the corpus alongside uncertain attributions. Digital linking should disclose these distinctions instead of concealing them.
A bibliographic record should separate the attested title, opening and closing words, manuscript shelfmark, copy date, modern edition and attribution assessment. A scanned page, searchable transcription and edition concordance serve different purposes. Before claiming that a passage matches another edition, compare the words and boundaries, not merely the page labels. Uncertain matches should remain explicitly provisional.
Useful tests include dated witnesses, quotations in early sources, authorial lists and comparison of language and content. A negative or uncertain verdict should be documented transparently instead of hidden behind a single yes/no label.
Primary sources and further reading
These are contextual reading links, not exact passage-level citations.